Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law

Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law

Synopsis

This monograph critically examines existing theories of international law and argues for an alternative Marxist approach. It draws on the jurisprudence of Evgeny Pashukanis linking law to commodity exchange, and in turn uses international law as an optic through which to make better sense of Pashukanis' general theory. The book argues that despite its great advances, the recent `New Stream' of radical international law scholarship shares with the mainstream it criticizes the lack of a theory of the legal form itself. Through Marxist theory and an extended critical history of international law from the sixteenth century to the present day, the book addresses that lacuna, and argues that international law is fundamentally constituted by the violence of imperialism.